


Closer

by justdk



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adam waking up to his feelings, M/M, friends to something, pre-BLLB, pynch - Freeform, really hot apartments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 10:17:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11757750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justdk/pseuds/justdk
Summary: “Christ, I forgot how hot it is in here,” Ronan complained as he kicked off his boots and then his socks. He set Chainsaw down on the floor and she started hopping around, exploring.Adam sat down at his desk while Ronan flopped onto the floor. “Are you, uh, gonna put anything on?” Ronan asked. He was purposefully not looking at Adam, hadn’t been since he arrived. Of course Adam had figured that out not too long ago, about the same time he realized that it was Ronan who had negotiated his decreased rent at St. Agnes. He couldn’t believe it at first, didn’t understand how he had missed it for so long.“No,” Adam replied, smiling a little. It wasn’t fair but… “You came over here. I don’t see why I should have to get dressed for unannounced intruders.”





	Closer

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Pynch Week, Prompt: Free Day. To "research" this fic I turned off the AC in my garage apartment for a night and realized that Adam would never wear clothes in his apartment during the summer cause it is too damn hot.

It was after ten pm on a Friday night and Adam Parrish was exhausted. And sweaty and hot and longing for a cold shower. He had worked after hours at Boyd’s, finishing up some projects, but he still had Aglionby work to do. The fall semester had started recently and so far things had been… tumultuous. Kavinsky was dead, Maura was missing, and their new Latin teacher was an evil mastermind who had arranged the death of Ronan’s father. All of that, plus tending to the ley line, getting strange messages and visitations from Cabeswater, and psychic lessons with Persephone. To top it off Ronan had been hanging around more, which wasn’t a problem exactly, but it was certainly distracting.

Adam cleaned up, feeling immediately refreshed by the shower. He hated being sweaty and dirty, which was problematic since he lived in an apartment without air conditioning and he worked jobs were he ended up getting filthy no matter how hard he tried not to. Adam slipped on a pair of loose boxers, the fabric so thin that it felt like wearing practically nothing. He wandered out to his makeshift desk and pulled out his Latin textbook. It was a shame that Colin Greenmantle was evil because he actually wasn’t a bad teacher, but every time Adam did his Latin homework it felt like he was betraying Ronan somehow.

He was halfway through his translation when someone knocked on the door. Considering the time of night Adam was fairly certain that it could only be one person. He got up with a tired sigh, joints popping as he stretched and crossed the short distance to the door. As he had predicted, Ronan stood on the tiny porch, Chainsaw clinging to his shoulder.

“Hey man,” Ronan said. He looked terrible, like he hadn’t been sleeping. “Can I come in?”

“Sure.” Adam opened the door wider and let Ronan in. Only weeks ago Ronan would have been using his Friday nights to tear around Henrietta in his BMW but not anymore, not yet. Adam could care less about Kavinsky’s death but he knew that Ronan was taking it hard even if he never said anything.

“Christ, I forgot how hot it is in here,” Ronan complained as he kicked off his boots and then his socks. He set Chainsaw down on the floor and she started hopping around, exploring.

Adam sat down at his desk while Ronan flopped onto the floor. “Are you, uh, gonna put anything on?” Ronan asked. He was purposefully not looking at Adam, hadn’t been since he arrived. Of course Adam had figured _that_ out not too long ago, about the same time he realized that it was Ronan who had negotiated his decreased rent at St. Agnes. He couldn’t believe it at first, didn’t understand how he had missed it for so long.

“No,” Adam replied, smiling a little. It wasn’t fair but… “You came over here. I don’t see why I should have to get dressed for unannounced intruders.”

Ronan laughed once, his forearm covering his eyes. “You might as well call me a vandal, Parrish. Don’t be so fucking proper.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “Alright, _vandal_. If you’re so hot you don’t have to… um, you know what, never mind.” He was blushing now and it was ridiculous.  

“I don’t have to what…?” Ronan sat up, looking at him, looking at all of him. Adam resisted the urge to pull the hem of his boxers down a little, not that it would make a difference but still.

“Well, you could take your shirt off if you’re really that bothered by the heat. That’s why I don’t wear clothes up here during the summer.”

Ronan’s face went perfectly blank for a second and then he grinned nastily. “Are you asking me to strip? Damn, buy me dinner first.”

Adam’s mouth fell open to protest but he couldn’t think of a good comeback when Ronan actually started stripping in front of him. It felt like a challenge so he didn’t look away as Ronan peeled off his customary black tank. Ronan turned around and Adam heard the quiet rasp of a zipper being undone and then Ronan was kicking his way out of his jeans. His black briefs looked more decent than Adam’s boxers for some reason, but Adam’s attention kept getting stuck on the tattoo stretching over Ronan’s back. Was this the first time he had seen all of it? Was that really possible?

“Hey,” Adam’s voice came out a little hoarse so he cleared his throat before continuing. “Can you stay like that for a minute? I want to look at your tattoo.”

Ronan’s shoulders tightened but he nodded his assent, holding perfectly still. Adam got up and came to stand behind Ronan. He wanted to reach out and touch the dark ink, to trace the lines and discover every intricate detail but he knew that wasn’t allowed. This was already probably going too far, considering the precarious line that he and Ronan walked between being friends and being… something more. Ronan flinched a little as Adam’s breath ghosted over his shoulders. Adam knew he should back up, move away, but for just a second he let himself relax into the nearness. Adam wasn’t ignorant of the tension buzzing between them, it was so thick that it made it difficult to breathe, but he also couldn’t ignore the comfort he felt in having Ronan in his small apartment, willing to put up with the heat and everything else just to have a chance to hang around him.

Chainsaw pecked at Adam’s toes and he smiled at her, rueful, and backed away. It was only once he had put some distance between them that he noticed that Ronan was trembling a little, his hands holding onto his biceps hard enough that his fingertips were white. Adam felt a pang shoot through him, like heartache.

“Beautiful.” The word was out before he had time to think and there was no pulling it back. Ronan glanced over his shoulder at Adam, his blue eyes narrowed. “Your tattoo,” Adam said, stumbling a little. “I had no idea.”

Ronan huffed out a heavy breath. “It should be. Took three sessions and hurt like a son of a bitch. But yeah, I like it.” His voice got quiet and he finally turned around, arms still crossed over his chest. Adam was suddenly struck by how _naked_ they both were. He had never seen so much of Ronan, knew that Ronan had never seen this much of him. The tension was electric.

Adam ducked his head and studied his desk, looking around until he found some manila folders.

“Here,” he passed one to Ronan.

“The fuck?” Ronan asked. “You gonna make me do paperwork?”

“No,” Adam laughed. “Go like this.” He waved his folder at Ronan, sending a puff of air towards him. “It’s a fan.”

“Huh.” Ronan waved his folder at Adam, the artificial breeze wafting Adam’s damp hair. Adam could have stayed like that, Ronan fanning him, the night settling in around them, but homework. Ronan’s eyes had gone heavy lidded and Adam was worried that his eyes were doing the same.

“Sorry, I’ve got to study,” Adam said abruptly, gesturing to his textbook. Ronan peered at it with a look of distaste.

“Whatever,” Ronan said, sulking a little. He collapsed on Adam’s bed. “You know, sometimes I think the universe is fucking with me.”

“You specifically?” Adam asked.

Ronan flopped his hand back and forth. “Oh I know I don’t have it so bad. But. My favorite subject and the first professor killed my friend before I even met him. Now our new professor had my dad killed. It’s like, what’s that class in Harry Potter that’s cursed?”

“Defense Against the Dark Arts?” Adam felt proud that he remembered. He had read the books during middle school, hiding in his room or in the garage, anywhere that he felt safe.

“Yeah, that. All our Latin teachers are fucking villains, man.”

Adam smiled even though it wasn’t funny. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“I think about it too much. I think about everything too much.” Ronan sighed. Adam was surprised to be getting this much honesty and transparency from Ronan. “Anyways, I’m gonna try to nap since you’re busy.”

Adam nodded and went back to his work. From time to time he would look over at Ronan, sleeping flat on his back, arm over his eyes. Chainsaw perched next to Ronan, looking more like a statue than a live raven. Adam felt something in him stir, having a mostly undressed boy in his bed; that the boy was Ronan Lynch made it feel too surreal to be true, like a vivid dream.

Adam woke up with his head resting on his arms, his completed homework and textbook pushed to the side. The desk light was still on and Adam blinked at it. He felt a cool breeze blowing over his back and his first thought was _Cabeswater_. Adam turned but instead of an apparition he saw a fan. It was a tall floor fan made of shiny white plastic and it rotated slowly, 180 degrees, pushing out a steady stream of cool air that smelled of damp rocks and moss. It wasn’t plugged into anything and the few buttons on the top were unlabeled. It was a dream thing. Adam looked over to his empty bed, the sheets still rumpled. He smiled faintly and stood in front of the fan, feeling cool relief pass over his skin, raising chill bumps.

The fan proved to be something of a turning point in Adam and Ronan’s relationship. Ronan visited more often, stayed longer, and he was usually in a better mood. Adam appreciated the company and if Ronan took to sleeping in his bed more than his room at Monmouth Adam didn’t complain. He would curl up on the sheets after Ronan had left, smelling the lingering scent of leather and gasoline. And if he dreamed of Ronan more often than not, well, that was his own business.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr @dkafterdark


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